1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automobile interior accessory. More particularly, the present invention relates to a picture frame attachable to an automobile sun visor for displaying personal photographs, artwork, or any other visual depiction.
For many years, automobile owners have found creative and sometimes unique ways of personalizing their vehicles. Individuals who find themselves in their automobiles for lengthy periods of travel or tedious daily commutes often desire to make the space around them feel warmer and more personable. Entire industries have been built around the production of witty bumper stickers, sports team flags, antenna tassels, decorative air fresheners, and dash mounted bobble figures. These decorations may make an automobile more comfortable or inviting for the automobile driver by evoking amusement, nostalgia, contentment, or any number of pleasant feelings.
Aside from manufactured decorations, automobile owners may desire to use photographs, artwork, or postcards to personalize their vehicle interiors. Photographs of loved ones, vacation spots, and pets are commonly posted to dashboards, visors, and other interior surfaces for the viewing enjoyment of drivers and passengers. These photographs or pieces of art remind the viewer of places and people the viewer is fond of, creating a more pleasurable traveling environment.
Several methods of automobile picture display have developed over the years. Some display a picture in a frame that can be attached to a dashboard by adhesive, which can be difficult to remove or lead to sticky residue on or discoloration of the dash surface. Other methods utilize a picture frame held onto a vehicle interior feature by clips, but these can detach at inopportune times if the flips become damaged or weakened by age. Lastly, some methods simply put adhesive or clips on the picture itself to attach it to a vehicle interior feature. None of these methods addresses a user's desire to have additional pictures available, so that the displayed image may be changed easily while the individual is in transit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art contains a variety of automobile picture display devices for display of images on an automobile sun visor. These devices have familiar design and structural elements for the purposes of photo display in an automobile; however they are not adapted for the task of storing additional images.
Gimbel, U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,287 discloses a picture frame picture holder that can display a single photograph and is permanently affixable to an automobile feature.
Anthony, U.S. Pat. No. 4,391,053 discloses an automobile picture display device detachably affixed to a vehicle sun visor by metal clips, and capable of displaying a plurality of photos.
McLaughlin, U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,384 discloses an automobile picture display device that can display a single picture and is affixed to an automobile ventilation grill by means of a U-shaped clip.
McLaughlin, U.S. Pat. No. 6,125,566 discloses an automobile picture display device and method for displaying a single picture that is removably affixed to an automobile ventilation grill by means of a U-shaped clip.
Runfola, U.S. Pat. No. 7,216,918 discloses an automobile accessory device comprising flaps that display art, advertisements, or indicia and attaches to a vehicle sun visor by an elastic sleeve.
The devices disclosed by the prior art do not address the need for storage of pictures, artwork, or postcards that a user may wish to display at a later time. The current invention relates to a device for automobile photograph display that allows a user to display multiple images at one time, and store other images in a side pocket for later use. It substantially diverges in design elements from the prior art, consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to the existing picture display devices for automobiles. In this regard the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.